Seeing As Jesus Sees [Part 6]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. What might you be missing? What might happen if you begin to just say throughout the day, Jesus, how do you see this? Jesus, what do you see here?

What am I missing? And what you're doing in that little prayer, as we'll learn a lot more about, is you're enacting a process that invites spiritual illumination. It's a pause in the busyness. It's a connecting with Jesus and the Spirit. And then it is a commitment to look again through new eyes. And all that's contained in a little prayer, Jesus, how do you see this?

So we're talking about what we might be missing and what we might be able to see when we start asking Jesus for His eyes. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light.

I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you with that tagline, See Your Life in a Whole New Light. And this book that is coming out soon by Pastor Alan is titled, Seeing as Jesus Sees. And we were gathered in the studio today to bring you more inspiration from this soon to be released book. And I want to let you know that when you pre-order it right now and let us know that you pre-ordered it, you'll receive as our thanks, a daily reading guide, a companion video course, and the free audio book version is our thank you for supporting the launch of Pastor Alan's new book.

When you let us know that you've taken that important step of pre-ordering, we're going to send you these wonderful additional resources as our way of saying thanks. Let us know at pastoralan.org or seeingasjesussees.org. With Pastor Alan in the studio today, as we're flipping through some of the pages, this is chapter two we're flipping through and there's a grand story of Pastor Alan, you and your wife, Ann, whale watching. All of a sudden she gasped and she says, I just saw one. I said, what? She said, I saw a whale. What?

Where? And she's out there. She said it was a small water spout. And then I saw whale just gently roll above the surface. And I, I looked, you know, five, 10, 15 minutes past nothing.

I'm thinking, great. I, my eyes were glued to the binoculars and she saw an actual whale. That might be the only one of the day that anybody sees. But suddenly Daniel, the guide says, look, two o'clock off the right front of the boat.

He said, boy, you're lucky today. There it is a thin whale, pretty large, about 60 feet, probably over a hundred years old and all the passengers aboard gas, they're pointing rejoicing, spewed an enormous spout slowly rolled up and out of the sea prepared for another dive. And then, and then, and a few moments later, the guide says, look, oh my 10 o'clock front left of the boat, 40 foot hump whale, her baby also, oh, you are so fortunate today.

And these glorious creatures are just, just rolling and surfacing and spouting. And, and then what every whale watcher dreams of seeing that, that mother whale she dove and breached the surface with that huge tail and just let it wave, you know, like waving goodbye to you, Daniel, I'll never forget it. I mean, in all, in our few hours on the St. Lawrence, we saw the fin whales. We saw also beluga whales. We saw, we saw two or three minky whales. We saw, it was, it was just glorious. Seeing whale watching is glorious. Actually, we should say seeing whales is glorious.

Just watching for them and never seeing is not fun. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder, and joy. What if you don't need to do more as much as see more, what if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing for years, pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, simple prayer, Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is after all the light of the world in his new groundbreaking book, seeing as Jesus sees Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close side by side with the savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit-filled living is a reserve for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide-eyed wonder and spirit revealed vision. The beautiful hardcover book releases October 10th, but for a limited time, when you pre-order the book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over a hundred dollars of bonus resources. Simply pre-order the book, visit seeingasjesusseas.org or come to our website pastorallen.org. Give us confirmation that you've pre-ordered the book and when the book releases, you'll be given a free audio book from the publisher and you'll also receive a free six-week Seeing as Jesus Sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan.

All these valuable bonus gifts are only for those who pre-order the book, so place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ Call to Discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So pre-order your copy of Alan Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others, and the world through Jesus's eyes.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Having heard about how great our experience was, my dear friend, our executive pastor, Pastor Chris and his family, they were very excited about a road trip to Maine that was two summers later. And his precious wife, Mary, she had just turned 40 and she had a lifelong dream of going whale watching. And so they decided to go and buy some tickets at Bar Harbor and go for their big adventure. Chris said, he said, I should have paid more attention when the boat guide announced before we launched, he said, it's foggy and choppy. So you're welcome to disembark and schedule for another day.

And he's like, we should have listened to that. But they went out, it was thick fog. The waters were so rough that they said that we'd have to sail farther up towards Nova Scotia. That was five and a half hours of three foot swells, bobbing and rocking the boat. Pretty soon one passenger lost his breakfast. And Chris is like, I never knew seasickness was so contagious. The whole boat seems sick. Chris said the whole day, he said, he said, I never saw anything but a bird. And they got done and they said, you could come back anytime in the future for a free, a free tour since, so we hadn't seen a whale.

It grew like, right. You know, who's going to sign up for five more hours of rocking on rough waters. So it's, it's, it's, there's nothing more frustrating than not seeing. And there's nothing more thrilling than seeing. And I think God in the spirit has so much to show us that we've been missing. And that gets, that's the whole point of those silly stories is just, you know, I'd say to all of our listeners, what might you be missing? What might happen if you began to just say throughout the day, Jesus, how do you see this? Jesus, what do you see here?

What am I missing? And what you're doing in that little prayer, as we'll learn a lot more about is you're enacting a process that invites spiritual illumination. It's a pause and the busy-ness it's a connecting with Jesus in the spirit.

And then it is a commitment to look again through new eyes and all that's contained in a little prayer, Jesus, how do you see this? So we're talking Daniel about what we might be missing and what we might be able to see when we start asking Jesus for his eyes. If you're intrigued like I am, you'll want to get the book and it releases October 10th. It's titled Seeing as Jesus Sees. And right now you can pre-order the book that kind of puts you at the front of the line so that you can get it right as it releases on release day. But here's the really cool thing is when you pre-order right now and you let us know that you've done so. You'll receive a free audio book, a daily reading guide and a companion video course is our thank you for supporting Pastor Alan's new book and its launch.

It's an important message here. Seeing as Jesus sees how a new perspective can defeat the darkness and awaken joy. So wherever you buy books, pre-order it and then let us know you've done so at pastorallen.org. We're happy to send this out to you.

Pastorallen.org or seeing as jesussees.org. Now in the discussion about the whale watching, it reminds me of the weather watches and warnings. If you're watching for a tornado, you haven't seen one, but the conditions are favorable, right? So if you're watching for a whale, conditions are favorable and you might see one.

But when you actually see one, that's the warning that, Hey, watch out. There's something big here. And, and you know what? I love how you relate this to our walk with Christ and our walk in this world, which is often filled with darkness, but we can find freedom, joy, and wonder when we simply pray that prayer and see as Jesus sees. I think freedom and joy and wonder are everywhere around us, kind of like whales in the sea that you just never noticed before, but there's something about that active looking with a guide. And as we said, Jesus is like our tour guide.

He's the one who sees. It makes me think of, um, of a wonderful story in the gospels. Simon Peter and his coworkers who'd fished all night and never saw a fish, you know, throughout the book, Daniel, what I like to do is a very, very different type of Bible study in this book where the stories that we tell and we go to the gospel, they are an invitation, not so much to learn lessons or principles. It's not the kind of book where it says, okay, let's study Jesus and see what he's doing. This is kind of whenever we go into the stories of the Bible and the book, it's like inviting the reader to come next to Jesus, shoulder to shoulder and look with the same perspective with he's looking.

So that's what I'd like. I'd like our listeners to imagine yourself that you were one of those weary fishermen that Luke describes in his gospel where you, you see yourself on the shore washing nets, you're tired. You're now you imagine yourself, you're a rookie and you're, I mean, you're, you're a new experience.

You're no rookie. And you, you know, those waters of the Galilee, you, you imagine yourself, you're a real fishermen and it's a well choreographed dance, two or three boats, all of you working together toiling at night when your linen nets are less visible to the fish in the middle of the night. And normally you're skilled at finding the carp, the tilapia there in the sea of Galilee, but not, not this night. This is, this is a night that feels wasted. And so this is the kind of way I want you to enter into the Bible study, let your bones and your soul feel it and all nighter.

And if you've ever had an all nighter for any reason you stayed up with a crying baby or studying for an exam or, or you just couldn't sleep and you know, you feel bone weary and yet nothing to show for it. So when Jesus arrives, you'd like to have a nap, but you see a multitude of people and Jesus is given by generous hearted Simon. His boat is a pulpit and you watch Jesus teach from the empty boat, which in and of itself is a, is a, is a lesson you're watching. And you go, boy, Jesus can use empty things. Maybe you're feeling really empty and throngs of spiritually thirsty people that are drinking in Jesus's words. And, and then, and then as you feel what it's like to feel empty and the long night, and Jesus says, you hear him say, put out into the deep and let down your nets. I'd like you to see yourself there.

And what do you do? Do you nod in agreement when Simon sighs and says, we've been fishing all night and what called even a minnow? Do you feel like the same frustration, you know, throw the nets again?

Are you kidding me? But what about when Simon says it your word, I'll let down the nets. How do you feel about that? Imagine you're with them and Simon obeys and then the fish start filling the nets. You see such a large number of fish, the nets are breaking. And then there comes this question, did Jesus miraculously, miraculously send in a swarm of fish or can this man see what others can't? And maybe you stare across the sea and the holiness of that moment just washes upon you. He sees the fish. He sees where the nets need to be. He can provide the fish because he can see the fish ahead of time.

Daniel, such a great story, isn't it? And I hope, I hope our listeners, even if you're just driving along in your car, I hope you took a moment to just pause in your soul and let yourself imagine being there. Because I think that it's important to understand that provision means seeing ahead of time.

Pro means before and vision to see. And if you ever feel like one of those worn out fishermen, you know that it can feel really empty. And maybe for our listeners, there's something you're in touch with right now that you're missing a lot. Maybe, maybe the grief of a dinner table with an empty chair or a marriage that feels empty of affection or maybe the scar of somebody's empty promises.

There's so many ways that we can feel empty. And I think it's important to say that there is a provision. It's like saying there are whale swimming in the St. Lawrence and there are fish swimming in the Sea of Galilee and there's grace for your longing heart. And God has already prepared the best for us.

And so I don't think it's so much about needing to plead provision. I think it's more about seeing and asking God for his eyes. I can, can you open my eyes and help me to see what you're seeing?

I think that's the way it is, Daniel. I think, I think God, he knows ahead of time where the fish are. He knows what you're going to need before you need it. He is able to see what we can't see. And so pause and ask him for his eyes when life feels tired and empty and you feel, you feel worn out.

The fish are already there. So to have more of his provision is to have more of his vision. Alan Wright with good news from his latest book, Seeing as Jesus sees.

Please stay with us. Pastor Alan's joining me back here in the studio, sharing a parting good news inspiration to see as Jesus sees in just a moment. Wondering what you need to do to find more freedom, wonder and joy.

What if you don't need to do more as much as see more? What if victorious breakthrough and enduring transformation comes not by striving, but by seeing. For years, Pastor Alan Wright has been practicing a new spiritual discipline, a simple prayer. Jesus, how do you see this?

It's brief enough for a single breath, but deep enough for lasting life change. It's a prayer Christ loves to honor because the savior came to open blind and blurred eyes. Jesus is after all the light of the world. In his new groundbreaking book, Seeing as Jesus sees, Alan Wright leads readers into a fresh kind of Bible study where they're invited in close side by side with the savior to see themselves, others in the world through Jesus's eyes. There's good news on every page because divine revelation and spirit filled living isn't reserved for the spiritually elite.

Every Christian can live with wide eyed wonder and spirit revealed vision. The beautiful hardcover book releases October 10th, but for a limited time, when you preorder the book from Amazon or your favorite retailer, you'll receive over a hundred dollars of bonus resources. Simply preorder the book, visit seeing as Jesus sees.org or come to our website, pastor Alan.org. Give us confirmation that you've preordered the book. And when the book releases, you'll be given a free audio book from the publisher. And you'll also receive a free six week Seeing as Jesus sees companion video series from Pastor Alan, along with a study guide and a daily reading plan. All these valuable bonus gifts are only for those who preorder the book.

So place your order today with your favorite online book retailer and visit our website for instructions on receiving all the extra resources. Christ Call to Discipleship isn't an invitation to strive to do what Jesus would do, but to come and see what Jesus sees. So preorder your copy of Alan Wright's newest book and discover and start seeing yourself, others and the world through Jesus's eyes.

Pastor Alan's book is Seeing as Jesus Sees and not to give away everything in the book, but I think we would be remiss to not mention that you are a grandfather now and there was preparation involved even during the writing of this book. And it just all came to a poignant moment where you said, I'm seeing ahead of time for this child coming into the world. Well, it's a great, I think it's a great illustration when you think, well, how could God in a sense be in your future? Right? Well, he's God.

All right. So he, he's outside of time. And in that sense, God's in your past and he's in your present and he's in your future. And so it's easy for him to provide because he sees what you're going to need tomorrow before tomorrow gets here.

And he's, in a sense, he's already there. This, this is mind bending, but I think from a human perspective, you can sort of think of it like when we were getting ready for our granddaughter to be born, Mia, who has the time of this recording is now just turned 10 months. And in fact, at the time of this recording, I am a little sore from babysitting yesterday and holding her instead and lifting her. And, and I told my wife, I said, this is good. This is so good exercise for the grandparents. And she's so adorable.

But at the time of the writing of this book, she was on the way, but not yet in the world. And so I'd been, I've been telling my wife, uh, that, Hey, the kids are all grown up. They moved out and now we've got some extra rooms in the house. And the office that I've been working in for six years was, uh, kind of a glorified closet. Now I'm not complaining. It was, it was cozy. It was cozy and it had a window and a window. So not complaining. I'm thankful for it. But I said, we got these bedrooms that, you know, and one of them, she said, needs to be a guest bedroom.

I agree. We didn't need to be there. And I said, well, what about, what about Bennett's old room?

It's got a nice view, a sliding glass door. And I said, we can make it into a wonderful office. And finally she had said, okay, you know, you can make it off. And then we get news of the baby coming. And she says that that office needs to be a nursery.

I said, well, it's going to be my office. So finally she says it can be an office slash nursery, which in the end meant it's a nursery with my desk in it. So we started getting ready for the baby. And first thing was she said, I want to get the old crib down that our kids ran and we'd saved it all these years up in the attic, going in the attic to get anything down is one of the yes.

Yeah, you can, you can lose all your joy and all your faith right there, especially in the summer and the summertime. So I go as sweat, I get that thing down and I have to clean it all day long. And finally we get it, get it set up and and then we start buying other things to fill out the nursery and we, we, we get the room painted and we buy a, you know, a changing table. Oh, there's just so many, uh, so many things, you know, and I, I can't believe when I start going to the stores and looking at how much the stuff costs for babies these days, I don't remember that. And then we just got, every time I go into stores, got baby clothes or baby things and we're saying to each other, what are we going to, how are we going to keep ourselves from buying her everything? I finally just joked.

I said, oh, let's just forget it. We're going to buy her everything. Yeah.

And we're so excited. So if you could just imagine like that scene of getting ready and we know the baby's going to need a crib, the baby's going to need a change table, the baby's going to need this and that the baby's going to need some clothes, the baby's going to need these diapers, baby's going to be any parent can understand this. In that sense, you could say that parent or that grandparent is in the baby's future. In fact, when you're raising a child, you're always in a sense in their future, providing. So to provide means you can see further than the child, what that child's going to need.

And so you are pro-viting. Well, imagine God, how much is he in your future already there seeing what you need before you need it? I mean, he sees the fish before the fish have even begun swimming your way. He sees the ram and the thicket for Abraham. He sees the answer to your dilemma, the creative solution.

He's the God who sees which in the Bible that is literally Jehovah Jireh. So the invitation is to start pausing to ask Jesus, what do you see? Connect your heart to Christ. What am I missing?

I'm empty. What do you see? And then you look, and I'm just saying, Jesus delights in showing you his grace. Whereas you see the goodness of God in the middle of your emptiness.

And if I could say it, it's a whale of an experience. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at pastorallen.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.